The day of the race was fantastic. This was my first full marathon and I traveled to Vegas by myself. Day of the race operations were smooth. The aid stations were fabulous. The weather was cold in the beginning but warmed up really nice at the finish line. I also saw 2 beautiful California Condors around mile 14. It was amazing!

Did you PR?

As my first full, this established my marathon time and can now work to always hit this mark or PR. But I did PR my half marathon time by 14 minutes which is fantastic!

How would you describe the course?

Absolutely beautiful course. You start up at Mt. Charleston resort, run through the desert and end up at the beginning of the city. I felt safe, there were plenty of traffic control once you got into the city and the course is not confusing at all.

Tell us about your training.

I trained from January to race day building up to 22 mile runs. I had 2 weeks where I ran about 48 and 50 miles those weeks. I was averaging about 30-35 miles/week during my training. I incorporated downhill, hills and strength training to my routine and it made a big difference.

What advice would you give future runners?

Bring warm clothes for the beginning! It was 22 degrees at the starting line this year!! But the race organization does give a Mylar blanket and gloves to keep you warm but you can also bring extra stuff to keep you warm until starting time. You can easily put them in a drop bag for easy pick up at the finish line. Lodge close to the Finish line!! I stayed in vegas-proper which means I had a 30 minute drive to the shuttles. I had to get up at 230am!! Staying closer to the race means I could have gotten an extra 30 min to an hour of sleep. Don't forget to pack a little sun block and chapstick. That sun is bright and it'll burn. That was the only thing I forgot to pack.

What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?

I came from Los Angeles, Ca. I relaxed the day before and the day after the race, I did a light 3 mile run to loosen things up and just lounged around the pool at the hotel all day.